Guardian of the Pumpkin Patch
by Frostforge44
Summary: The Hinterlands have had Guardians of the Holidays to guard and protect the Holiday Doors and everyone living in them. When the Pumpkin Guardian of Halloween suddenly dies, the Guardians make it their sole duty to find the new Guardian before the now vulnerable Halloween ceases to exist. The greatest challenge faced by the wise Guardians: finding the Pumpkin Guardian.
1. Course of Action

**Well, I was planning on publishing this on Halloween, but what the heck? I'm doing it now. I'm really excited about this idea and I hope you guys are interested in reading it. Well, not much else to say since it's only the first chapter except this: I don't own The Nightmare Before Christmas or its characters. I only own my own characters which will be named within the next few chapters. I hope you enjoy!**

Deep within the forest, unknown and unseen by unworthy eyes, stood a circle of trees. They had cleverly hidden themselves for centuries on end, revealing themselves only to the Guardians of the Holidays. The ones who protect the holidays of old and worn and all of the beliefs, joy, and traditions they stand for.

Each guardian took their place in the familiar circle of trees leading to their holiday world. Seven doors were present. Six guardians were there. One had died. An important one at that.

Their cloaks swayed in the low breeze in the forest. Each of the cloaks presented the colors of their holiday. Red and Green. Light Blue and Pink. Brown and Yellow. Light and Dark Green. Yellow and White. Light Pink and White.

Only one cloak was not worn by a human, the one that was Black and Orange. This cloak belongs to, rather, it belonged to the Pumpkin Guardian, Adrian Smith.

"Adrian will be missed, but we must find a new guardian," said Raymond, the guardian of Thanksgiving. The Gratitude Guardian. He had short, dirty blonde hair that matched the yellow and brown cloak he wore.

His words were true, too. Leaving a holiday unguarded for even a day was unsafe. Leaving it unguarded for a great amount of a time would be catastrophic.

"No duh, Raymond! How long did it take for you to figure that out?" Aaron teased, his brown bangs sweeping over his eyes as he chuckled. His green eyes sparkled with mischief, matching the shade of dark green in his cloak. Aaron McMartin, the Clover Guardian, was by far the tallest and the youngest of the Guardians of the Holiday Realms.

Raymond, not one to like tricks, snarled at him, his light green eyes flashing dangerously as he prepared to pounce. It was then that the woman in the red and green cloak stepped in between them. This blonde-haired, brown-eyed woman was Helena Ronalds, the Mistletoe Guardian.

"Enough!" Helena shouted. "This isn't going to help Halloween. Or Jack, for that matter."

All the guardians bowed their heads. It was true. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, was in deep sorrow for the loss of one of his best friends. For an undead royal, his heart held no bounds for friendship.

Frankly, none of them even know how he's going on with planning Halloween. Today is Halloween and word is that he's planned it all out. The incident occurred only two years ago, yet they wonder why it is that he goes on. Perhaps, deep in his skeletal soul, he hopes a new guardian will take Adrian's place. The friendship may not be the same, but perhaps he or she could help.

"How are we going to find the new guardian, anyway? It's not like skipping a stone across water, you know? Especially for Halloween," said Markus. The Springtime Guardian, believe it or not, was the most mysterious of all the Guardians and rarely ever spoke. Yes, despite the light blue and pink cloak, he rarely ever smiled, nor did his chocolate brown eyes ever show emotion.

"Yes. This is troubling. We must find the new guardian to protect the door, and even lift Jack's spirits," said Kindra. This was completely unlike how the blonde-haired, blue-eyed female known as the Cupid Guardian.

"We should probably start with the mortals born in the fall season. I don't think there's much else we can do," June calmly suggested, also being completely out of character. She was the Guardian of New Beginnings. The others pondered this idea. It wasn't a bad idea. But there were many other ideas to go by other than when one is born.

Creature Bonding is one thing they could look for when they begin to narrow things down. In other words, they would look for anyone that attracted animals such as bats, owls, spiders, cats…basically any animal involved with the holiday that makes mortals scream.

Or maybe even Holiday Trivia, though it would be hard to determine that in a person just by looking at him. Or her. Anybody can have knowledge of the specific holiday, though it wouldn't be built into their own genes.

"Well, it's not much, but it's something to start off on. Might as well give it a try," Helena reasoned. Everyone nodded in agreement. June beamed at the fact her idea was accepted.

"Very well," Raymond concluded. "We must continue our search with the idea that June has presented. Even if we must search the entire Earth! For Jack!"

"For Jack!" The others cried out in agreement. Raymond lifted his hand to silence the commotion.

"Very well. This meeting is finished."

Once the others were gone, one stayed behind. Aaron. He walked to the door in the shape of a smiling Jack-o-Lantern. He smiled and rubbed the bark of the door.

"Don't worry, Jack. We'll find you a new friend, yet."

With that, he turned away and ran out of the forest, beginning his search of the guardian with the others.

* * *

"Come on, honey! Just a few more pushes!" cried out a man with black hair and blue eyes as his hand was mercilessly squeezed on by the woman in the delivery room.

The woman had sweat pouring down from her brow and her light brown hair. Her hazel eyes were wide even when she shut them as she grunted and pushed harder to bring her child into the world.

"I can see the head!" the doctor exclaimed through the face mask. He held his hands out, ready to receive the little bundle of life. "Just a little bit more!"

So for the next five minutes, she breathed in and out harshly through her nose and out of her mouth. With one final deep breath, she chewed at the insides of her cheeks in pain of the long, painful contraction before letting out a piercing scream and her vision turned white.

"Hon…ake up…e's here..." she blinked her eyes, trying to clear her vision from the intensity of her birthing experience. Finally, her vision returned and she turned her head to the side.

Her husband smiled at her as he sat down while holding a little pink bundle gently in his arms.

"Here she is, honey. Our little girl."

As he held out the little bundle to her, the new mother sat up a little and smiled as she took her daughter into her arms. The little baby whimpered, hiccupping out a little cry from the brightness and the bitter cold of the new world.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. I'm here. Don't cry."

The little girl hiccupped again and blinked away the tears as she calmed down. The mother shut her eyes, leaning back into her hospital bed. The father smiled, patting the small head of his new daughter.

"Your daughter's birth certificate sir," the doctor said, handing the dark-haired father a framed birth certificate. The man smiled as he brought it up to read.

_This Certificate of Birth names __**Autumn Lillith Wilson**__ was born on the __**31 **__day of __**October**__ at __**8:51 pm**__. _


	2. A Lamenting Song

**Yay! Chapter two! Oh, this is something I didn't mention in the first chapter, so I'll say it now: the events from the movie did not happen at all. Granted, there will be songs revised and used from the movie, but that's it. Since there are Guardians of the Holiday Doors, each of the Holiday leaders know about each other and respect their boundaries. **

**I know that the plot doesn't seem so great so far, but I swear that it will get better. I'm even already thinking of a sequel. Anyway, I don't own The Nightmare Before Christmas. They belong to Tim Burton. I only own Autumn, Twilight, Ebony, and the Guardians. I hope you enjoy!**

_12 years later, October 29. 6:30 am._

A blur of white and soared overhead of a small town. The sun slowly rose over the horizon of the city, flying over a billboard that read _Welcome to Jackson Hole, Wyoming! _The barn owl looked over the town with deep amber eyes before turning off into a suburban neighborhood.

The owl dove down and swooped up, latching its talons into the thick tree branch next to a two-story Victorian style house. It shuffled a bit, peering into a bedroom that consisted of everything in orange, violet, and black. It leaned forward and tapped its beak on the window.

_Tap tap tap._

The violet and black blankets shifted a bit, but the person in bed didn't get up. However, a black tail flicked upward from the other side of the lump. The furry face of a pitch black cat poked up, blinking its bright orange eyes at the window. The cat got up and arched its back in a yawn before jumping onto the sleeping person and meowing loudly. It only took a minute or two of that to stir the heavy sleeper.

A young girl, about the age of twelve or thirteen with midnight black hair tied in a messy ponytail sat up and stretched out with a yawn. The cat slid off of her and sat next to her as she blinked her weary hazel eyes.

"Twilight," she groaned with a small smile as she stroked the black cat's head. "What's the big idea waking me up this early?"

Twilight gestured his head and meowed, _'You have a visitor, Autumn.'_

Autumn turned to the window and smiled as she got out of bed, "Good morning, Ebony. What brings you here so late?"

Ebony did nothing but tap at the window again. Autumn opened up the window and the barn owl jumped onto the windowsill as she screeched, _'Hello, Autumn. Hell, Midnight. The storm last night blew over my tree.'_

"Oh, man! I'm so sorry, Ebony. Where will you go?"

'_I don't know. I was hoping I could stay here for today and find a new home tonight. That is, if you'll have me,'_ Ebony looked up to the human girl with pleading amber eyes.

Autumn smiled fondly and nodded, "Sure you can! Just make yourself at home. I need to get to school early to get ready for the Halloween Dance today, anyway. That and my parents never come up here when I'm not home, anyway."

If an owl could smile, Ebony would be grinning the the Cheshire cat. She screeched lightly and took off, landing right into the full basket of blankets Autumn had at the end of her bed. She curled up and tucked her head into her wings to sleep.

Autumn took a deep breath and side as she crossed her arms, "Man, I love Halloween."

* * *

Autumn hummed as she browsed around the school gymnasium of Yellowstone High, ensuring that everything for the Halloween Dance was ready and set to go. While she would rather be decorating for the Dance, the student council and the principal felt that her passion for the holiday would help make it the greatest Dance in school history. Well, most of them did.

"Hey, Hallow-freak!"

Taking in a harsh breath through her nose and blowing out of her mouth, Autumn turned to face the tall, tan, blonde-haired, blue-eyed teen Courtney Rogers. Not only her that, but her passé, Lisa and Fiona, stood behind her, looking only half as snobbish and irritated as Courtney.

Putting on a fake smile, Autumn politely asked, "Yes, Courtney? Is there a problem?"

Flipping her hair back, Courtney sneered, "Problem doesn't even begin to describe it! Do you see what I have here on our hands?"

The three girls stuck out their pampered, manicured hands to Autumn. Her hazel eyes showed confusion as she responded,

"Uh…yeah? Its pumpkin guts."

"Exactly!" Courtney screeched, making Autumn jerk back and slightly hide behind her clipboard. Everyone else on the dance committee stopped their work to observe the scene. "Why are we eve using _real _pumpkins? Stop being a picky little kid and just get light-up pumpkins!"

Arching an eyebrow and taking on a more challenging attitude, Autumn countered, "First of all, there wouldn't even be enough outlets for light-up pumpkins. You want to catch the school on fire?"

When it looked as if Courtney was going to answer with a 'yes,' Autumn cut her off, "I didn't think so. Second, it's not the way our ancestors celebrated Halloween. I mean, Jack-o-Lanterns aren't meant for decoration. They were actually used on All Hallows Eve to ward off spirits and ghosts. Well, they actually used to make them out of turnips, but obviously pumpkins are a much better-"

"Whatever!" Courtney scoffed with a raised hand. "Just stop with that stupid spooky trivia!"

"Hey! Halloween is not stupid!" the popular girls stepped back at the intensity of Autumn's snappish reaction. "You guys just can't appreciate something as amazing and exciting as Halloween. Just because it's not modern doesn't mean it's as worthless as you'd like it to be!"

Everyone in the gymnasium stopped their work, blinking in complete shock. There were no teachers keeping them under control, so it wasn't as if anyone was in a hurry to tell on Autumn. The black-haired girl took in a deep breath, brushing back a strand of hair before calmly asking,

"Now, are there any more questions?"

The brown-eyed redhead meekly put up a hand. Autumn put on a neutral face and asked, "Yes, Fiona?"

"Um, I gotta ask this. You said that this was a masquerade dance, right?"

Autumn nodded, "That's right."

"Then why do we have these ugly masks that cover the whole face?" she asked as she brought up a wooden mask decorated with black and orange paint.

"It's all a part the traditional Halloween experience. People used to wear masks like that when going out at night so that the evil spirits wouldn't recognize them as being alive-"

"Someone make her shut up!" Courtney clasped her hands over her ears.

Autumn shook her head, rolling her eyes as she took off to look around for the rest of the preparations.

* * *

"I don't get it, Twilight. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to find my purpose. What am I doing wrong?" Autumn said with her loyal feline companion padding by her side through the park. She was dressed in her usual fall time outfit: a dark violet T-shirt with black spider web design, black jeans, light violet converses, and an orange hoodie.

The sun had set over the small town and now the only thing lighting their way through the night were the dim street lights and the bright full moon. Were her parents worried that she was out this late? Not really. Violence was rare in Jackson Hole and Autumn was always cautious when out at night.

'_You have a purpose, Autumn,'_ Twilight began. _'Maybe it's here and maybe it's not. The people here just don't appreciate true creativity when they see it.' _

Autumn blew up a breath of air to sweep her bangs away, but they ended up just falling down again. She sighed and asked him,

"Care to take a stroll through the cemetery? I doubt anyone's around."

Meanwhile, in the Jackson Hole Cemetery…

Many creepily dead trees still stood within the wide cemetery. On one of those trees, at about the middle of the place between the entrance and the deep, dark forest on the other side, was a vulture. Its head was hung down, almost as if it were sad about something.

"Still sulking around graveyards are we, Jack?"

The vulture picked up its head, his forest green eyes roaming to the side to view the owner of the voice. Aaron McMartin stood at the base of the tree, slightly looking up at the disguised Pumpkin King.

The vulture hissed lightly, not really sounding threatening, but sounding more like sorrow. Jack looked up even further, his gaze locked onto the sky.

"Don't worry, Jack. We're getting even closer to finding the Pumpkin Guardian. You'll see."

_Creak…_

"Someone's coming! Hide!" Aaron hid behind the tree. Jack merely blinked and kept himself perched on the tree branch. The Clover Guardian peeked from the other side of the tree.

A black-haired, hazel-eyed girl closed the gates behind her and walked down the path, her fists shoved into her hoodie pockets. A black, orange-eyed cat trotted by her side, jumping over the broken tombstones.

"What's that kid doing here so late?" Aaron asked quietly. Jack looked down to the friendly Holiday Guardian before averting his eyes back to the girl.

Autumn sighed, setting an arm on a tree branch where Twilight jumped onto it. She smiled a bit, scratching him behind the ear. A loud screech made them stop and look up, making Twilight stepped back as Ebony swooped down and landed on the branch.

"Evening, Ebony," Autumn smiled as she patted the barn owl on her head.

'_Good evening, Autumn. I couldn't help but see you were a tad upset. What's wrong?'_

"I really don't know how to begin," Autumn sighed, her arms folding behind her back as she continued on. Twilight and Ebony looked to each other before taking off after their human companion.

Autumn smiled as she crossed underneath a mass of tangled tree branches between two trees before singing,

_There are many who'd agree, _

_That Halloween's indeed the best__  
__For this time of year's renowned far and wide_

She didn't know why she loved to sing in the graveyard, all Autumn knew was that it felt right.

Aaron and Jack, however, couldn't believe their eyes nor could they believe their ears. The only difference between the two: Jack was more of a risk taker. He spread his wings and took off, knowing it was dangerous to blow his cover, but he couldn't help but be curious about this girl.

"Jack! Get back here!" Aaron whisper shouted as he ran after the vulture.

_With its constant surprises in the moonlit night__  
__This enigma of a day excels with a doubt_

Autumn climbed on top of a gargoyle, jumping clear to an identical one.

_With the ghostly charms of All Hallows Eve__  
__All women, men, and children cry out and shriek_

Jack landed on a tombstone, still keeping himself as quiet and subtle to observe the girl.

_With the dimmest of lights, and the well-placed moans_

_Even the bravest have been swept right off their feet__  
_

Autumn sighed, a look of melancholy crossing her face as she folded her arms and set them down on the bridge that stood over a little creek.

_Yet year after year, it's the same routine__  
__And it gets much harder to bear such scenes__  
__And now that day, on Halloween__  
__Has made me grow tired of the same old thing__  
_

Twilight and Ebony looked to each other sadly, which increased in sympathy once turned onto Autumn. The young girl flattened her palms over her chest where her heart was as she continued to sing as she walked up the path of the tallest hill in the cemetery.

_Oh, somewhere deep inside of my soul__  
__An emptiness began to grow__  
__There's something out there, far from my home__  
__A longing that I've never known_

Autumn sat down on the bench, Twilight lying down on her lap and Ebony perching on the seat next to her.

Jack hid himself on one of the live trees and peeked through the leaves that had yet to fall down. He tilted his head and his bottom beak fell down a bit in awe. He couldn't help but begin to wonder…

He glided to the ground, hoping to get a closer look at the mysterious girl.

_It's the master of night, and even I might__  
__Admit that it sometimes puts me in a trance_

Both Jack and Aaron winced when Jack's talons crunched onto a dead tree branch, forcing him to take shelter behind a broken tombstone before he could be spotted. While Autumn was somewhat blissfully unaware of it, Twilight and Ebony turned back to the sound, but put their attention back on Autumn chimed melodically,

_Why it's plainly keen, that glorious Halloween  
__Is greatly known throughout England and even France_

"You like her, huh?" Aaron whispered to the cleverly-disguised Pumpkin King. Jack didn't respond, but only leaned his neck even further as a mystical smile crossed his beak.

_And I have decreed that every pumpkin seed__  
__Sprouts and grows just for this terrifying day__  
__No egg nor bell chime can ever outshine__  
__This most suspenseful of any holiday__  
_

Autumn sighed, a great look of sadness crossing her face as she continued,

_But who here would ever understand__  
__That the outcast girl with the pitch black curls__  
__Would tire of her life, if they only understood__  
__She'd give it all up if she only could_

The black-haired girl got up, stepping down the hill with her animal companions following.

_Oh, there's an empty place in my soul__  
That draws me to something unknown  
This nothingness still pushes me through_

_Hoping one day my wish will come true_

When they felt that it was safe to come out, Jack and Aaron came out just in time to watch Autumn disappear into the forest. Jack flew up onto a crypt, his neck craning forward with an open beak in the direction of the girl.

_Could she be?_ He thought, a spark of hope in his heart turning into an inferno of determination. _Yes! She must be!_

The vulture screeched excitedly, spreading his wings wide before taking off into the air and into the forest. No matter how absurd the idea sounded, Jack was convinced that this young girl was the one the Guardians had been looking for.

"Oh yeah. This is very good," Aaron chuckled, bringing out a cell phone from his pocket and putting it to his ear. He waited a few seconds before saying,

"Helena? It's Aaron. I think I've just found our new Pumpkin Guardian," a few seconds passed and Aaron shook his head, "Just tell everyone to come to an emergency meeting in the Jackson Hole Cemetery in Jackson Hole, Wyoming," more mumbling was heard from the other side and Aaron couldn't help but smile widely, "All I can say is that if this girl is the real deal, Jack sure has taken a shine to her."

* * *

_Crunch. Crunch. Snap. Crunch._

Autumn along with Twilight and Ebony heard the crunching of leaves and trees under the human's feet as they walked through the forest. Her fists were now in her hoodie pockets and her hazel eyes merely roamed around the woods she played in constantly since she was little.

Jack was sure to keep himself at a respectable distance, yet still close enough to see and hear any useful information. Still, he was just barely holding back his enthusiasm for the possibility of a new Guardian and a new friend. Especially since he couldn't help but notice how much in common they had.

"Well, two good things happen on October 31st at least: Halloween and my birthday," he heard the 'Pumpkin Guardian's' voice echo from a little bit away. "Other than that, life's pretty much dull."

Jack cawed out in a mix of surprise and elation, _This is too good to be true! I must speak to her at once!_

Unfortunately, his caw made an even bigger scene than he intended. Autumn had stopped in mid-step and turned around, her eyes roaming up into the trees. She smiled and stepped forward a bit,

"Cool. A Eurasian Black Vulture. You're a bit far from home, aren't ya?"

Jack cocked his head to the side, not completely understanding what she meant. He did know one thing, though, she wanted to talk to him and he wanted to talk to her. It was perfect!

His talons shifted on the tree branch before he took off, gliding down towards the girl. Autumn cocked an eyebrow, stepping back a bit to make room for a landing.

_SCREECH!_

Jack jerked back, his talons gripping into a tree branch no more than seven feet off the ground. Ebony landed in front of him, her amber eyes narrowed and her wings up in a defensive position as if she were putting herself between the vulture and Autumn.

'_And just who do you think you are, vulture!?'_ she hissed out.

'_Oh, of course! How rude of me!' _ Jack laughed to himself with a smile. He pointed to himself with his wing and greeted, _'Hello, owl. I'm Jack. Jack Skellington. And you are?' _

"Huh. I guess that vulture and Ebony are having a little chat. Well, that's okay. I can talk to the guy later. Catch you later, Ebony!" Autumn waved to the two birds before running off down the trail. Twilight paused, sending a narrow-eyed glare at the strange vulture before taking off after her.

'_Oh no!' _Jack gasped, his head rising over Ebony's. _'Wait! Don't leave!'_

'_Don't even think about it!' _Ebony screeched, flapping her wings at Jack as he tried to take off.

No matter how hard Jack tried to get past Ebony, she was always there to block his way. He brightened as an idea came to mind. He crouched and flew above her, the barn owl hiss and take off after him. Jack flew around the tree, forcing Ebony to follow. The two flew around many, many times which made them practically blurs. Jack flew out of the fray and stood on a tree branch, his green eyes following the owl as she continued zooming around the tree.

Finally, Ebony stopped and landed on a branch as she huffed in exhaustion. Her wings ached and she was completely out of energy.

'_Well, this was fun, but if you'll excuse me, I must go and greet the new Pumpkin Guardian,' _Jack screeched to her, taking off further down the trail.

Ebony lifted her head, still huffing as she glared in Jack's direction, _'Greet the new what?!'_

* * *

"You know, Twilight, I know I was feeling a bit down earlier, but I think I'm starting to feel a little better," Autumn wrote some things down in a small, black leather journal as she smiled a little to herself, but frowned a bit as she didn't get a response. "Twilight? Are you even listening?"

She looked down at her side and saw that Twilight kept looking over his shoulder and glaring. He growled loudly to her, _'It's that vulture. He's following us.' _

"Oh, come on, Twilight. You're being paranoid. What's the big deal?"

'_Autumn, he was coming right at you! You could've been hurt!' _

_Autumn?_ Jack cocked his head to the side before smiling widely. _Perfect! She's absolutely perfect!' _

"You don't know that," he leaned his head down to listen to Autumn. "Maybe he wanted to talk and he's just shy."

'_You don't know that-'_

"Well, neither do you!"

Jack perched on a high branch, only turning his head to look between the girl and her cat as they argued. Back and forth. Left and right. His head just kept turning as they argued.

Finally, Autumn just sighed and shut the journal before sitting down, leaning into a tree, "I'm going to rest a bit and then we'll go home. Think what you want about that vulture, but I think he's all right."

Twilight growled, but paced onto Autumn's lap and curled up and closed his eyes. Jack's eyebrows furrowed as he thought of a new strategy at approaching the new Pumpkin Guardian.

Half an hour passed by and he was still thinking, but thankfully he didn't need to any longer. Twilight's ears perked and his heat shot up at the sound of rustling leaves. A few yards away, a little mouse skittered out into the open and wriggled its whiskers as it stood back up on its hind legs.

The black cat's orange eyes narrowed and he got up, prowling close to the ground as he stalked forward.

'_You're mine.' _

Twilight pounced, but stumbled as the mouse darted away where the cat quickly took chase. Jack blinked and tilted his head, but then smiled widely at the opportunity. He jumped off the branch and glided down, landing quietly onto the tree roots below.

He leaned forward and nudged Autumn's shoulder with his beak. When at first she didn't respond, Jack nudged her again.

"Not now, Ebony," Autumn mumbled sleepily and turned over onto her side.

Jack gave her one final nudge and she blinked her hazel eyes open and sat up. The girl stretched her arms and yawned out,

"Ebony, what is it-" she stopped as she saw that it was no owl that was nudging her. "Oh, hello."

Jack didn't say anything, the only response he gave was blinking his green eyes twice.

"I guess I didn't introduce myself properly. I'm Autumn. Autumn Wilson. What's your name?" Autumn frowned a bit when she didn't get an answer. "Are you okay? You're awfully quiet."

Jack tilted his head as he leaned down and tapped the black leather book with his beak. Autumn smiled proudly and patted the smooth surface.

"You like that, huh? That's my Halloween Journal. I never let that thing out of my sight. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost it."

Jack spread his wings and screeched before taking off, latching his talons onto the binding of Autumn's journal.

"Hey!" Autumn cried out as she involuntarily jumped up to get the book. She turned to where Jack had flown and took off after him.


End file.
